Kobe bryant and shaquille o’neal had one of the most famous beefs in nba history the legendary duo played eight years together for the lakers during which they won three championships while their volatile relationship filled the media headlines here is the complete history of the beef between shaq and kobe 1996
Both players arrive in la in 1996 the lakers gm jerry west got two superstars over one summer he signed the already critically and publicly acclaimed shack and traded for the diamond in the rough 17 seventeen-year-old kobe even though kobe was the youngest player in the league he wasn’t your usual rookie from the
Get-go he stood out with his european backgrounds confidence and standoffish arrogance kobe believed he was the best and he spent no time telling everyone which rubbed some of his older teammates the wrong way during the first meeting with the team and the new players were introducing themselves
Kobe said this i’m kobe bryant i dominate everything i ain’t going to be punked by anybody in the nba there were early signs that kobe will be a handful both for his opponents and his own team but those were still the good old days where he was just an
18 year old rookie who enjoyed basketball and mostly respected his older teammates shaq jokingly called kobe showboats because of his flashy moves and cheeky personality when bryant shot four air balls against utah in the playoffs shaq came over and hugged him in support first fight as the time went on toby was
Getting better but the lakers weren’t real contenders for the title and shaq was losing his patience he was supposed to be the best and the most dominant center in the game he was getting to his late 20s without the ring which pissed him off he told the management that he doesn’t want to
Babysit kobe who was averaging 15 points and just two assists per game in 1998 before the 99 season o’neal and bryant played a two on two basketball game with derek fisher and corey blount during the nba lockout kobe was physical during the game and shaq was calling a lot of fouls
They began trash talking and cussing each other out after which o’neil slapped bryant who was trying to retaliate but was separated from shaq by his teammates problems would continue during the year and shaq called kobe selfish after a poor start to the season they weren’t really getting along off the floor as well
Shaq would be throwing parties and hanging out with teammates while kobe was alienating himself and focused entirely on basketball the lakers would once again get swept in the playoffs after which the lakers fired del harris and appointed phil jackson as their head coach first title with the arrival of phil
Jackson everything clicked for the lakers jack respected phil because he had already won six championships with the bulls and o’neal was extremely motivated to finally win one two he got into the best shape of his life and it showed shaq was a dominant player as soon as he stepped into the league
But in 2000 he was a different beast and was absolutely unstoppable the lakers had the best record in the league and shaq averaged 30 points 14 rebounds four assists and three blocks and he deservedly won the mvp award he was on a mission that year and that mission was to destroy
Everybody who got between him and larry o’brien however things weren’t so smooth in the playoffs where the lakers trailed by 15 late in game seven of the western finals against portland but with a bit of luck they produced a magical comeback highlighted by an alley-oop from bryant to shaq
Who slammed it home and sent the lakers to the finals there they would beat the pacers in six games after a spectacular series by shaq and an outstanding performance from bryant in game four when o’neill fouled out when the final whistle sounded kobe jumped in shaq’s arms and nobody could predict that this
Peachy moment wouldn’t last for long 2001 fat shack shaq proved that he is a winner and the best player in the league he had spent his summer chilling and not taking care of his body and showed up to training camp out of shape kobe was furious he couldn’t understand
That o’neill didn’t take his job as seriously as he did and said that the guy selling donuts had more pride in his job than shaq kobe openly called out shaq and demanded that he become the number one option because he thought he was the team’s best player
Shaq of course was against it and called kobe selfish and bryant replied that o’neal’s defense deteriorated however despite a poor start things turned around for the lakers in the second half of the season when shaq got healthy and in shape the lakers were by far the best team in the league
And they lost only one game in the playoffs on their way to another title their 15 in one playoff record was the best in league history and kobe and shaq looked like they were in perfect harmony and unbeatable on the court next season it was much of the same kobe
And shaq threaded nicely for most of the year phil’s triangle offense was working like a swiss clock and the lakers steamrolled for another title sweeping the nets in the finals the 2003 season healing on company time shaq had arthritis in his toe which bothered him during the three-peat
He could have had surgery right after the o2 finals but he didn’t want to spend the summer on crutches instead he opted to get his toe fixed just when the lakers training camp was about to start i got hurt on company time so i’ll rehab on company time shaq
Famously said which didn’t sit well with kobe he was busting his behind all summer to get better as he always did while he was recovering bryant was finally unleashed and he had a nine-game streak where he scored at least 40 points once shaq got back to the lineup phil
Jackson made a decision that made kobe furious he told bryant to score less and feed the ball to shaq more because jackson knew that big fellow was sensitive and that he needed to be engaged offensively to commit to the team fully kobe was beyond mad
And he didn’t want to be reigned back in which caused a new batch of arguments the team finished with a fifth seed and lost in the conference semis to the spurs kobe shack chemistry was far from ideal the worst was yet to come the 2004 season the boiling point before the 2003
2004 season started multiple events helped derail the kobe and shaq relationship shaq wanted a new contract and played not knowing whether he’ll get the money he desires both men were nervous and itchy coming to the season and their relationship reached a boiling point with brian absent from camp due to his legal situation
And his recovery from knee surgery o’neal said full team is here bryant privately warned jackson if shaq continues talking bs things in the press i’ll fire back i’ve had it phil jackson and the lakers management called both players and told them not to make their beef public because they would be punished when
Bryant joined the lakers in camp o’neill told reporters bryant should look to be more of a passer than a scorer until his knee was fully healed bryant responded that he knew how to play the guard position that shaq should worry about the low post he’s right he doesn’t need advice
On how to play guard but he needs advice on how to play as a team this is my team if he doesn’t like it let him go after this season just ask carl and gary why they came here one person not two one o’neal referred to carl malone and gary payton who
Joined the lakers in the off season and were once again the main contenders for the title the situation was getting more tense by the minute it exploded after kobe had an interview with jim gray on espn bryant claimed that o’neil came into training camp fat and out of shape he
Questioned his leadership and called him selfish for requiring a max contract while malone and payton were playing on cheap deals once the interview aired shaq was fuming he went absolutely berserk and wanted to fight kobe kobe felt the same driving to practice he fully expected that a physical altercation would happen but
Cooler heads prevailed and those cooler heads were not shaq and kobe’s their teammates and coaches had prevented a fight because they all knew these guys despised each other be yelled at shaq during practice you always told me you were my older brother you would do anything for me and when
Colorado happened you didn’t even call me i thought you would at least support me in public brian shaw got involved in the whole story and revealed the relations in the lakers locker room kobe why are you saying such things you never came to any party organized by shaq we called you to
Dinner so many times and you didn’t show up shaq invited you to the wedding too but you didn’t come again then you got married and you didn’t even invite any of us now that you are in a difficult situation you expect our help well we don’t even know you man
Jackson fined bryant for defying his orders to not talk to the press however due to his uncertain legal situation shaq vowed not to beef with kobe publicly although it was very clear that their chemistry was broken beyond repair at that point despite all the turmoil the lakers reached the finals again but
Would lose to the pistons four games to one where the lack of chemistry showed between their best two players goby was trying to win the title by himself and when o’neil wasn’t as engaged on offense he didn’t try as hard defensively against all odds pistons won the title simply
Because they played as a team and the lakers played as individuals after the season ended phil jackson was fired while kobe was already looking to move to chicago and play for the bulls the news broke out that shaq was traded to miami after which kobe chose to stay with the lakers 2004-2005
Not talking during the 2004 interview with stephen a smith kobe expressed the desire to apologize to shaq for some of the comments he made during his court case i should have done what shaq does shaq would pay his women not to say anything and he had paid up to 1 million dollars
For situations like this o’neil had this to say in rebuttal to kobe’s statement i never hang out with kobe in the seven or eight years we were together we were never together so how this guy can think he knows anything about me or my business is funny kobe realized he crossed the
Line for bringing shaq’s personal relationship into their mess but shaq wasn’t interested in talking to kobe and he would ignore him before the 2004 christmas games between the lakers and the heat next season they did greet before tip-off and both said that things were good between them
Shaq won the title in 2006 with d wade but after kobe failed to get his in the 2008 finals shaq made the infamous rap about it big shaq is the difference between first and last place kobe tell me how my ass tastes all-star co-mvps and friends kobe and shaq would both
Represent the west in the 2009 all-star game with phil jackson as the west head coach brian and o’neil got along great during the weekends and were named the all-star game co-mvps bryant ultimately gave the trophy to o’neal’s son sharif and it seemed like the beef was finally
Over kobe would go on to win the title that season after which shaq congratulated him on twitter next season kobe won the title again and delivered one of the best one-liners in the history of nba press conferences when asked what the title meant to him personally kobe smiled and said
I got one more than shaq you can take that to the bank jack once again congratulated on twitter when asked about it he said that he doesn’t compare himself to guards only to other big men and even though he had said those things he later admitted that he was beyond pissed in a
One-on-one interview with kobe in 2019 when you won your fifth title i tore my house up shaq said it was just another example of how these two alpha males operated and how petty they actually were however after shaq retired in 2011 their relationship got gradually better they were always complimentary about
Each other in the media if they stayed together in la they could have definitely won one or two more titles but both were probably better off apart kobe wanted his own team to prove his worth as a player if shaq stayed in la coby would have signed with the bulls however despite
All the beef they will always be remembered as the greatest one-two punch in nba history thank you for watching please don’t forget to like and subscribe as we put out videos like these every day let us know what you thought about this video in the comments
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